Romania to process a million tons of Caspian crude

The Associated Press

Lukoil Romania Group, the local branch of Lukoil, Russia’s biggest oil company, won an auction to process 2 million tons of the Caspian crude oil a year in Romania, an official said March 10. “The result of the auction gives Romania more chances in the tough competition with the neighboring countries for the oil route from the Caspian Sea to Western Europe,” said Dan Capatana, chief of the presidency department on economic strategies.

The financial and technical details of the auction, organized by Azerbaijan’s National Oil Company Sokar on March 9 in Baku, will be released shortly, said Victor Craciun, Lukoil Romania Group’s spokesman.

Craciun said the prices for the processed oil will be “very advantageous” in order to attract more clients from Eastern and Western Europe.

The oil will be processed by Petrotel-Lukoil refinery in the city of Ploiesti, some 37 miles north of Bucharest, starting this year.

Romania plans to build a pipeline through its territory to transport crude from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Ukraine and Russia to Western Europe. Romanian officials claim their country offers the shortest route and the best refining technology.

Turkey, Bulgaria and Ukraine have also proposed routes which would bring Caspian crude oil to Western markets through their territory.

The chemical industry was one of the former dictator Nicolae’s Ceausescu’s hobbies and there are 10 refineries in Romania with a processing capacity of 34 million tons per year.